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Lizzi Ackerman is the Co-Founder & CMO of Birch Benders, the number one natural waffle mix and fastest-growing frozen waffle brand in the U.S. Under her leadership, their diverse portfolio has expanded to include pancake and waffle mixes, frozen waffles, snack cups, and sweetened syrups. Birch Benders products are available in over 15,000 locations including Walmart, Costco, Target, Whole Foods, Kroger, and more.
With seven first-to-market launches in the past five years, Lizzi and the Birch Benders brand have built a reputation for innovative, delicious, clean-label, and functional products. She graduated from Yale University with Honors in History of Science and History of Medicine and was a 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient. When she’s not brainstorming new innovations with her husband and Co-Founder Matt, Lizzi also enjoys skiing, hiking, running, and spending time with their six-month-old baby boy.
Lizzi's interest in food and the meaning of Birch Benders
How the idea of making pancakes for business came about and their process for getting into local food stores
Birch Benders’ expansion outside Whole Foods, the packaging changes they made, and how the company was funded
Why Lizzi and her business partner decided to work with brokers
The product development process and Lizzi's thoughts on the power of food diets
How the company was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic
The biggest challenge Lizzi has faced in her business and how she and her husband handle their personal and professional lives
The future of Birch Benders
Lizzi's advice to fellow entrepreneurs on building a business
After starting a business with her husband Matt, Lizzi faced several challenges that she was able to overcome in growing her company to where it is today. While she’s found success in running a data-driven business, she’s learned to use that data sparingly and opt for something else instead: trusting her gut.
Lizzi's interest in food, science, and medicine led to the creation of Birch Benders 9 years ago, when Lizzi and Matt decided to start a company that makes pancake mixes with healthy organic ingredients. Being a young company, they did daily demos for 18 months to grow sales and received a lot of useful feedback from their customers, which they used to grow their business.
In this episode of the NexxtLevel Podcast, Lizzi Ackerman, Co-Founder & CMO of Birch Benders, talks to G. Steven Cleere about her entrepreneurial journey growing a pancake mix business. She explains the meaning of a birch bender, talks about the various challenges she faced growing her business, and her future expansion plans.
Our podcast today is sponsored by Kitchen2Shelf, the educational arm of NexxtLevel Brands. Kitchen-2-Shelf provides online and in-person courses and workshops for CPG entrepreneurs at any stage of growth.
Whether you're an early-stage startup, a local growing business, or if you want to just expand your distribution to a national level, Kitchen-2-Shelf can help you learn what you need to know to grow.
Visit their website to get access to some free tools that can help you understand where your business stands.
Contact them today to find out how they can help you grow your brand and expand your business to reach its full potential.
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